Tagged: Cole Figueroa

Pineda’s Pinpoint Pitching Pushes Yanks Past Sox

GAME 86

YANKEES 5, RED SOX 1

The Boston Red Sox came into Friday’s opener against the New York Yankees riding a four-game winning streak and hoping to elbow their way out of the cellar to get closer that the 5 1/2 games back they were in the American League East.

Instead they ran into right-hander Michael Pineda and they may have lost their ace pitcher to a serious elbow injury.

Pineda used his laser-like control to hold the Red Sox to one run over 6 2/3 innings and the Yankees took advantage of Clay Buchholz leaving the game in the fourth inning as New York downed Boston in front of a national TV audience at Fenway Park.

The Yankees won their third straight game and not only maintained their three-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles in the division but also dropped the last-place Red Sox to 6 1/2 games back.

Pineda (9-5) only gave up a solo home run to Mookie Betts with one out in the fifth inning to bring the Bosox to within three runs at 4-1. Pineda yielded one run on seven hits and no walks while he fanned six batters to record his first victory since he defeated the Miami Marlins 2-1 at Yankee Stadium on June 17.

Meanwhile, the Yankees took an early lead on Buchholz and the Red Sox with two out in the first inning when Alex Rodriguez blasted his 17th home run of the season over the Green Monster in left and onto Landsdowne Street.

Coming into the contest Rodriguez was 11-for-27 (.407) with two home runs in his career against Buchholz.

The Yankees added to their slim lead in the fourth in an inning that the Red Sox committed two errors while the Yankees batted around and scored three runs by getting only two balls into the outfield.

Brian McCann started the rally with a bloop single to shallow left-center. One out later, Didi Gregorius laced a double off the Green Monster in left to advance McCann to third.

After Buchholz delivered a ball to Stephen Drew to even the count at 1-1, the right-hander called his catcher Sandy Leon and later the team trainer to the mound. Without testing his right elbow, Buchholz left the game in favor of left-hander Robbie Ross Jr.

That is when the Red Sox fielding issues and the speed of both Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner came into play to allow the Yankees to extend their lead.

Drew hit a ball to first baseman Mike Napoli but the ball caromed away from him and Ross was unable to get his foot on the base to retire Drew for an error, which loaded the bases.

One out later, the Red Sox had an opportunity to end the inning but All-Star infielder Brock Holt bobbled a grounder off the bat of Ellsbury and he was unable to beat him with his throw to first.

Gardner then hit another routine ground ball to Napoli. But Gardner was able to slide head first into the bag before Ross could get his foot down for an RBI single. Ross then compounded the Red Sox problems by walking Rodriguez on a 3-2 pitch to force in a run.

Buchholz (7-7) ended up being charged with three runs (one earned) on six hits and no walks with three strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.

He left the game in what was reported later by the team as tightness in his right elbow. He was scheduled to undergo an MRI late Friday to determine the severity of the injury but there was no report on what the results indicated.

The Yankees added a final run in the eighth inning off right-hander Matt Barnes and left-hander Craig Breslow. Barnes walked Chris Young and then hit Gregorius with a pitch. Breslow entered the game and managed to retire Young at third on a botched sacrifice bunt by Drew and Cole Figueroa on a weak popup. However, Ellsbury slapped a single to center to score Gregorius to extend the lead to 5-1.

The Yankees turned to their vaunted bullpen to close out the Red Sox and preserve the victory for Pineda.

Left-hander Justin Wilson, right-hander Dellin Betances and left-hander Andrew Miller held the Red Sox hitless over the final 2 1/3 innings to seal it.

With the victory the Yankees are now 47-39. The Red Sox fell to 41-46.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Pineda managed to follow up an excellent pitching performance by Masahiro Tanaka against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday. The Yankees’ right-handed duo combined to give up just three runs (two earned) on nine hits and one walk with 12 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings. That is a 1.26 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP. If Pineda and Tanaka pitch like this on a consistent basis there is no team in the division that stay with the Yankees in the second half.
  • Rodriguez added to his totals against Buchholz with the home run and a single he hit in the third inning. He is now 13-for-29 (.448) with three home runs in his career against the right-hander. Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and two RBIs on the night. He is now batting .279 with 17 home runs and 49 RBIs on the season.
  • Ellsbury came back to haunt his former team by going 1-for-5 with an RBI. But it was his and Gardner’s speed that set the stage for the three-run inning that sunk the Red Sox. Running out the error allowed the Yankees to load the bases and Gardner’s infield RBI single started the scoring. This is the toughest 1-2 hitting tandem in baseball, period.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Pineda was great. A-Rod got two big RBIs and the Yankees’ speed helped force some shoddy defense. If the Red Sox lose Buchholz for any length of time, which looks very likely at this point, they will have a very difficult time climbing out of the division cellar. How could things be any better for the Yankees?

BOMBER BANTER

Although third baseman Chase Headley ran in the outfield before the game Friday, the Yankees did not use him in the game. Manager Joe Girardi said it is possible that the Yankees could elect to rest Headley until after the All-Star break. Headley, 31, has missed the past three games with inflammation in his right calf. Figueroa started in his place on Friday and was 0-for-4.  . . .  Outfielder Carlos Beltran, 38, is scheduled to play a few minor league rehab games in Tampa, FL, during the All-Star break and he hopes to be able to return to the team on July 17 when the Yankees play host to the Seattle Mariners. Beltran was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 1 with a left oblique strain. Beltran is hitting .260 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs in 66 games.  . . .  With the Red Sox scheduled to throw two left-handers this weekend, the Yankees are planning to recall rookie second baseman Rob Refsnyder from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Refsnyder, 24, is batting .290 with seven homers and 37 RBIs in 81 games with the RailRiders. Refsnyder bats right-handed and Drew, who bats left-handed, is hitting .182 with 12 homers and 25 RBIs in 78 games.

ON DECK

The Yankees will have a chance to win the three-game series against the Red Sox on Saturday.

Right-hander Ivan Nova (1-2, 2.65 ERA) will make his fourth start of the season for the Yankees. Nova, 28, surrendered three runs on six hits and three walks with one strikeout in five innings in a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.

The Red Sox will send left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (4-2, 3.69 ERA) to the mound. Rodriguez gave up one run on six hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in five innings in a no-decision against the Houston Astros on Sunday.

Game-time will be 7:15 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast nationally by FOX Sports.

 

Gardner, Ellsbury Help Tanaka Overcome Oakland

GAME 85

YANKEES 6, ATHLETICS 2

Masahiro Tanaka was well aware of the whispers after he went 0-2 with a 6.26 ERA in his past four starts. They were saying that he was not pitching well because of that slightly torn right elbow ligament.

On Thursday he got a chance to silence those naysayers and he did it in style.

Tanaka (5-3) pitched two-hit baseball over 7 2/3 innings and newly selected All-Star team replacement Brett Gardner homered while Jacoby Ellsbury added two RBIs as New York won the three-game series over Oakland in front of paid crowd of 40,084 at Yankee Stadium.

After Gardner hit his 10th home run with one out in the first inning to hand him an early 1-0 lead, Tanaka struggled in the second inning.

Josh Reddick reached on a rare catcher’s interference call on Brian McCann. Billy Butler followed with an RBI double to left that scored Reddick. Two outs later, Mark Canha plated Butler with an RBI double off the center-field wall.

Though the Athletics did not know it, Tanaka would then go on to retire the next 18 batters he faced without giving up a hit or a walk. Butler did reach first with one out in the fourth inning after striking out on a wild pitch.

So Tanaka ended his day being charged with two runs (one earned) on two hits and no walks and he struck out six in a masterful season-high 114-pitch performance.

The Yankees, meanwhile, were able to tie the game in the bottom of the third inning against right-hander Jesse Chavez.

Ellsbury drew a leadoff four-pitch walk and Gardner followed with a single to center as part of his three-hit day. Mark Teixeira then scored Ellsbury on a single up the middle for his 62nd RBI of the season, which leads the American League.

The Yankees took the lead for good in the fourth after Chavez issued Stephen Drew a one-out walk and Cole Figueroa, who was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier in the day, delivered one of his two doubles on the afternoon to advance Drew to third. Ellsbury then laced a two-run single to right to score Drew and Figueroa.

Chavez (4-2) surrendered four runs on seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts in five innings.

The Yankees added a pair of unearned runs in the eighth inning off right-hander Fernando Rodriguez.

Chris Young drew a one-out walk and Figueroa followed one out later with a ground-rule double to right. Both Young and Figueroa scored when Marcus Semien fielded Ellsbury’s ground ball but committed his major-league-leading 28th error of the season when first baseman Ike Davis was unable to catch his errant throw.

Left-hander Chasen Shreve and right-hander Adam Warren combined to throw 1 1/3 scoreless innings to close out the victory for Tanaka.

With the victory the Yankees are now 46-39 and they have opened up a three-game lead over the second-place Baltimore Orioles in the American League East. The A’s dropped to 39-49.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • Tanaka’s final start before the All-Star break was just what he needed to build upon after he missed more than a month with an arm injury unrelated to his elbow ligament tear. He is 5-3 with a 3.63 ERA in 11 starts. In order for the Yankees to maintain their lead in the division it will be important for Tanaka to pitch closer to the 13-5 and 2.77 ERA he recorded last season in 20 starts. I would not want to bet against him doing it after seeing him on Thursday.
  • Ellsbury’s return to the lineup on Wednesday after being activated from the disabled list paid big dividends in this game. He and Gardner combined to go 4-for-9 with a walk, a home run, three singles, two runs scored and three RBIs. They reached base in seven of their 10 at-bats. Gardner was 3-for-5 and is now hitting .303 on the season. This speedy tandem is going to create a lot of havoc on the bases in the second half as long as they stay healthy.
  • Figueroa, 28, was called up to play third base in the absence of Chase Headley, who has some minor inflammation in his right calf. All Figueroa did was go 2-for-4 with two doubles and he scored two runs in his first major-league game. Figueroa was hitting .317 with three homers and 36 RBIs in 77 games at Scranton.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

Nothing negative here. The Yankees got a great effort from their ace right-hander and with Gardner and Ellsbury getting on base often it is going to be difficult for teams to keep the Yankees from scoring runs in bunches. The rest of the division better watch out.

BOMBER BANTER

In order for the team to call up Figueroa the Yankees sent Jose Pirela, 23, to Scranton. Pirela was hitting a disappointing .212 with one home run and four RBIs in 29 games. Pirela hit.305 at Scranton last season and batted a robust .370 this spring. But he has not found his stroke with the Yankees this season. In addition, the Yankees had to designate for assignment outfielder Taylor Dugas, 25, to make room on the 40-man roster for Figueroa.  . . .  In the fifth inning the public address announced that Gardner, 31, had been selected by Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals  –  who is managing the American League All-Star team  –  to replace outfielder Alex Gordon of the Royals on the roster. Gordon suffered an injured groin in a game on Wednesday and will be sidelined for a minimum of six weeks. Gordon had been selected to start for the American League in the fan vote. For Gardner it was the first time he had been selected for the team. Gardner is batting .303 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs this season.

ON DECK

The Yankees will open their final pre-All-Star Game series with their hated rival Boston Red Sox on Friday at Fenway Park.

Right-hander Michael Pineda (8-5, 3.79 ERA) will start the series for the Yankees. Pineda pitched a brilliant seven innings of shutout baseball. yielding only five hits and one walk while striking out 10 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. He did not get a decision but the Yankees eventually won the game in the ninth inning.

Right-hander Clay Buchholz (7-6, 3.27 ERA) will start for the Red Sox. Buchholz threw nine innings of one-run baseball, giving up six hits, no walks and striking five in a complete-game victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday.

Game-time will be 7:10 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast nationally by the MLB Network and locally by WPIX.

 

 

Eovaldi, Headley Help Yankees Blank Astros

GAME 28

YANKEES 7, ASTROS 0

KISSIMMEE  –  Chase Headley pounded out three hits, including his third home run of the spring, and drove in three runs to support Nathan’s Eovaldi’s strong 4 2/3 innings of shutout baseball as New York blanked Houston on Sunday at Osceola County Stadium.

Headley got the Yankees’ offense started against right-hander Scott Feldman (0-2) with a two-out solo home run in the third inning that hit the top of the right-field field wall and bounced over. He later broke the game wide open in the sixth with a two-out, bases-loaded single off right-hander James Hoyt that drove in two runs to cap a four-run rally and extend the Yankees’ lead to 7-0.

Meanwhile, newly acquired right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (1-1) continued a string of impressive appearances this spring by shutting down the Astros on just three hits. He did not walk a batter and he fanned five.

For the Yankees it was their second consecutive road shutout of the spring. On Friday, the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 10-0 in a game called in the sixth inning due to rain.

With the victory the Yankees improved their Grapefruit League record to 15-12.

FIELD FOCUS

The Yankees have historically leaned towards trading away young pitchers and acquiring veteran pitchers on the north side of 30.

There are many examples of young pitchers the Yankees traded before they became stars like Jose Rijo, Doug Drabek, Ted Lilly and Ian Kennedy. Just this winter the Yankees traded David Phelps and Shane Greene. It is just something for which Yankee fans have grown accustomed.

The script got flipped, however, when veteran infielder Martin Prado and Phelps were packaged to the Miami Marlins in a trade for first baseman and outfielder Garrett Jones, Eovaldi, a 25-year-old right-hander, and a promising 22-year-old right-hander Domingo German.

Basketball coaches always say that you can’t teach size and baseball managers say accordingly that you can’t teach a pitcher velocity. Eovaldi has a gifted right arm that possesses outstanding velocity. His fastball can reach as high as 98 miles per hour.

In fact, FanGraphs.com ranked Eovaldi’s fastball as the fourth highest in velocity last season among major-league pitchers. The oddity was Eovaldi led all National League pitchers in hits allowed (223) and he only managed 142 strikeouts in 199 2/3 innings.

His 6-14 record and 4.37 ERA also would have you scratching your head after you saw that sizzling heater of his.

So Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild did some tinkering with Eovaldi’s fastball and his secondary pitches this spring to bring his hits allowed down and raise his strikeout totals. In short, they want him to take the next step in being a dominant pitcher.

After Sunday’s sterling effort, it appears that Eovaldi  –  with Rothschild’s help  –  is doing just that. In Eovaldi’s four spring appearances (three starts) he is 1-1 with a team-best 0.66 ERA. He has yielded just one run on 10 hits with no walks and 14 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings.

If you add a potentially dominant Eovaldi to 26-year-old right-hander Masahiro Tanaka and 26-year-old right-hander Michael Pineda then you might have an excellent trio of young starters to build a team around.

But don’t just take my word on Eovaldi. You can hear it from a fellow graduate of his from Alvin High School in Alvin, TX, who was watching Eovaldi on Sunday in his role as an executive advisor to the Astros  –  some guy named Nolan Ryan.

“I haven’t watched him in person, only on television, but I’ve followed him ever since he’s been in high school,” Ryan told reporters. “I really think that the better part of his career is still ahead of him.”

The Yankees might just have something special in this young Eovaldi. And the best part is he is not 34 years old and past his prime.

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • I really ripped this team for how bad they looked on Saturday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL, against the Baltimore Orioles in a 10-2 loss. But they bounced back nicely on Sunday and scored seven runs and collected 11 hits and drew seven walks. But he oddity this spring is that the Yankees are 8-5-1 and have outscored their opponents 77-44 on the road while they are 7-7 and have been outscored 64-46 at home. This may be because the young players have been doing most of the hitting this spring and they are playing more on the road.
  • In addition to Headley’s three hits, the Yankees got another stellar effort at the plate from Rob Refsnyder. The 24-year-old second baseman was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored and an RBI. Refsnyder is now 12-for-35 (.343) with five doubles, one home run and five RBIs. He is ticketed for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and he does need to get better in the field, but this young player has all the makings of a great hitter.
  • Esmil Rogers, 29, may have blown his opportunity to be the team’s No. 5 starter this spring. But he still has some value in the bullpen. Rogers looked sharp in retiring all five batters he faced and he fanned two of them.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

I will not nitpick this one. If you toss shutout ball and score seven runs there is not much there to fix.

BOMBER BANTER

Alex Rodriguez made his major-league debut as a first baseman on Sunday and handled three chances flawlessly in his three innings of work. Manager Joe Girardi envisions Rodriguez as potential fill-in at first base behind starter Mark Teixeira and Jones. “Catching the ball, I’m not worried about that. I’d think he’d be pretty good around the bag, even scooping, because you get a lot of those hot shots at third base,” Girardi told reporters.  . . .  Teixeira suffered a right knee contusion on Sunday playing in a minor-league game at the Yankees’ complex in Tampa. Teixeira left the game immediately and was limping afterward. But he told reporters that he was “fine.”  . . .  Shortstop Didi Gregorius received treatment and said there was improvement in his strained left wrist that he sustained in Saturday’s game against the Orioles. Gregorius said he is sure he will be ready to play on Opening Day.  . . .  The Yankees released right-hander Scott Baker but they hope to re-sign him to a new minor-league contract. Baker, 33, originally was signed to a deal that would have forced the Yankees to pay him a retention bonus. The Yankees would like Baker to sign a minor-league deal without the bonus. That is the same basis they re-signed right-hander Jared Burton on Sunday. Burton, 33, had been released three days ago. He only pitched in four games this spring because he suffered a strained lat. In addition to the Burton signing, the Yankees also optioned right-hander Bryan Mitchell to Scranton and sent right-hander Kyle Davies to minor-league camp. The team also optioned outfielder Ramon Flores to Triple-A and re-assigned catchers Francisco Arcia and Kyle Higashioka, infielders Cole Figueroa and Jonathan Galvez, outfielder Slade Heathcott, left-hander Jacob Lindgren and right-hander Nick Rumbelow to minor-league camp.

ON DECK

The Yankees will take the day off on Monday before resuming their final week of spring training games on Tuesday at CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers, FL, as the Yankees play the Minnesota Twins.

Tanaka will make what will be his final spring appearance before he opens the season on April 6 at Yankee Stadium against the Toronto Blue Jays. Tanaka is 1-1 with a 1.74 ERA in his three spring starts.

The Twins will counter with left-hander Tommy Milone, who is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in four starts.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast by the MLB Network.

 

Yankees Break Tie In Eighth To Overtake Nationals

GAME 7

YANKEES 3, NATIONALS 2

Kyle Roller, Aaron Judge and Cole Figueroa stroked consecutive two-out singles in the eighth inning with Figueroa scoring Roller with the tie-breaking run as New York defeated Washington on Sunday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL.

Right-hander Wilking Rodriguez (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning to earn the victory. Mitch Lively (0-1) took the loss. Jared Burton pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up a save.

With the victory the Yankees are now 4-2 in Grapefruit League play.

FIELD FOCUS

If you walk up to Yankee special instructor Reggie Jackson and ask him who he believes is the team’s best young hitting prospect he does not hesitate to tell you that it is infielder Jose Pirela.

Pirela, 25, put those hitting talents on display on Sunday

The 5-foot-11, 215-pound native Venezuela opened the third inning with a double in the right-field corner and he scored on Brett Gardner’s two-out infield single to tie the game a 1-1.

He came up again in the fourth with two out and Brian McCann on third and Chris Young on first and chopped a infield single to give the Yankees a temporary 2-1 lead.

In his first week of spring games, Pirela is batting .455 (5-for-11) including a double, a triple and three RBIs. If you think that possibly could be just an aberration think about this: Pirela batted .305 with 10 home runs and 60 RBIs in 130 games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

He earned a September call-up to the Yankees last season and all he did was bat .333 in 24 at-bats and three RBIs.

Pirela is not rated among the Yankees’ top prospects and yet there is a scenario where he might leave spring training as part of the 25-man roster.

With backup middle infielder Brendan Ryan shelved so far this spring with a mid-back strain he suffered working out with weights, Pirela would stand to make the team as its middle infield reserve.

The knock on Pirela has always been his defense. Scouts do not see him as a potential starter because of that reason. That reputation largely was sewn because Pirela committed 37 errors in 111 games at shortstop in 2011 wit Double-A Trenton.

But Pirela has cut down on his errors in the past three seasons. He was charged with 11 in 2012, 16 in 2013 and 11 last season though he played first base, second base, shortstop and 45 games in the outfield.

The Yankees see Pirela as a “super sub” player along the lines of Jerry Hairston Jr. But the Yankees mostly need him as infielder for now. His bat, though, will always be his main calling card.

“I’m very thankful to the Yankees for this opportunity,” Pirela told reporters. “They’ve given me plenty of opportunities. I just want to continue doing my job and I just hope to keep getting a chance to show what I can do.”

PINSTRIPE POSITIVES

  • The Yankees trotted out their late-inning relievers in Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. Both looked relatively sharp. Miller, a 29-year-old left-hander, was making his second appearance of the spring and he threw a perfect inning with one strikeout. Betances, 26, made his spring debut and gave up a leadoff double to Clint Robinson but retired the next three hitters, the last two by strikeout. Manager Joe Girardi said no decision has been made on who the team’s closer will be or if the team will employ Miller and Betances as co-closers.
  • Although he was charged with an unearned run in the seventh inning on a RBI groundout by Derrick Robinson, right-hander Luis Severino showed off his 97-mile-per-hour fastball to fan three of the seven batters he faced. Severino, 21, is ranked as the team’s top prospect. Despite being a power pitcher who has fanned 225 batters in 221 2/3 innings, Severino also has only walked 54 batters over that time, which just a bit over two every nine innings. There is a chance Severino could make his major-league debut at some point this season.
  • Adam Warren, 27, made his second start of the spring and he looked pretty good despite surrendering a leadoff homer to Michael Taylor on his first offering of the game. Warren yielded just the one run on four hits and no walks with one strikeout in three innings.

NAGGING NEGATIVES

  • It is early but starting center-fielder and leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury is just 1-for-12 (.083) after going 0-for-3 on Sunday  –  all three were weak groundouts, including one in the third inning with Pirela on third and one out. Gardner followed with his RBI single to get Ellsbury off the hook. It would be nice to see Ellsbury get untracked before spring training ends.
  • Carlos Beltran is 0-for-5 in his first two games of spring. Beltran, 37, is recovering from right elbow surgery last September and it is obvious his timing is off in the early going. The Yankees are counting on the perennial All-Star outfielder to produce big numbers batting third for the team this season.

BOMBER BANTER

It’s official: Masahiro Tanaka will make his first start in a spring exhibition game on Thursday night as the Yankees play host to the Atlanta Braves. Girardi made the announcement on Sunday. Tanaka, 26, has been monitored closely this spring after he suffered a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow last July. Though Tanaka opted to rehab the elbow rather than undergo Tommy John surgery he has reported no issues with his elbow this spring.  . . .  CC Sabathia threw a bullpen session on Sunday and it appears he is just a week away from his first Grapefruit League start. Sabathia had surgery on his right knee last season and the Yankees are being cautious with the 34-year-old left-hander. Sabathia told reporters there is no doubt he will be ready for the start of the season.

ON DECK

The Yankees will play host to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

Right-hander Michael Pineda will make his first start of the spring for the Yankees. Pineda, 26, was 5-5 with a 1.89 ERA in 13 starts in a season cut short by a pulled muscle in Pineda’s right shoulder.

The Yankees are also scheduled to play their starting infield of Mark Teixeira, Stephen Drew, Didi Gregorius and Chase Headley.

The Rays will counter with right-hander Nathan Karns, who was 9-9 with a 5.08 ERA at Triple-A Durham last season.

Game-time will be 1:05 p.m. EDT and the game will be broadcast live by the YES Network and on a taped basis by the MLB Network at midnight.